Bathing garment



April 23, 1935. s. TAIT BATHING GARMENT 1934 5 Sheets-Sheet l FiledDec.21

INVENTOR.

u n m ///v u w April 23, 1935. 5. TNT

BATHING GARMENT I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 21, 1954 INVENTOR.

A TTORNE Y.

April 23, 1935. s. TAlT 1,999,010

BATHING GARMENT Filed Dec. 21, 1934 A TTORNE Y.

P ten ed Apr- 2.3.1.5535

' UNITED sTArEs PATENT OFFICE BATHING GARMENT Samuel Tait, Philadelphia,Pa. Application December 21, 1934, Serial No. 758,664

7 Claims.

The present invention relates to a certain new and useful bathinggarment or bathing garments and to certain improvements in bathinggarments whereby a relatively thin and light-weight garment may be madeof knitted silk plies or webbing of relatively sheer and translucentcharacter, which, however, in the finished garment will not berevealing, but will be relatively opaque from the normal external viewwhen actually in'use.

The present invention further relates to other novel features as well ascertain novel details of construction in silk bathing garments, all ofwhich will appear more fully from the following detailed description.

One of the objects of the present invention is to form a silk bathinggarment and beach apparel, which may be made in relatively light weight,which will dry fast on the body of the wearer, which will givesubstantial ventilation and substantial exposure to sunlight when wornon the beach, and which at the same time will not be revealing ortransparent to the normal view.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention consistsof a knitted silk bathing garment formed of a plurality of plies, sheetsor webs of knitted silk fabric, each sheet or ply being relatively thinand transparent, and the multiplicity of plies combined being alsorelatively transparent when held close to the eye with a source of lighton the other side, but which when viewed at a slight distance, becomenon-transparent and tend to give a totally opaque efiect, due to thereflection of the light by the underneath ply or plies or by the silkunder-layers.

The present invention further consists in forming the multiplicity ofknitted silk plies of a relatively fine-gauge or of a relatively fineyarn or thread so as to accentuate this dual quality or characteristicof the composed layers.

The invention further consists of certain other novel features anddetails of construction which will appear more fully from the followingdetailed description and accompanying drawings.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in theaccompanying drawings forms thereof which are at present preferred sincethe same have been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliableresults, although it is to be understood that the variousinstrumentalities of which the present invention consists can bevariously arranged and organized and that the invention is not limitedto the precise arrangement and organization of the instrumentalities asherein shown and described.

Referring to the drawings in which like reference characters indicatelike parts:

Figure 1 represents a front perspective view of a garment embodying theinvention as actually worn.

Figure 2 represents a rear perspective view of the same.

Figure 3 represents a rear perspective view, also showing thecombination skirt and cape element worn as a skirt.

Figure 4 represents a front elevational view on a somewhat enlargedscale, of the bathing garment more or less laid out flat, with partsbroken away to expose to view the successive layers.

Figure 5 represents a fragmentary section on line 55 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 represents a section on line 6-6 of Figure 4.

Figure 7 represents a section on line 11 of Figure 4.

Figure 8 represents a section on line 88 of Figure 4.

, Figure 9 represents a front elevational view of the combination skirtand cape member with parts enlarged to show the character of the stitch.

Figure 10 represents a section on line I0--|0 of Figure 9.

Figure 11 represents a section on line H-ll of Figure 9.

Figure 12 represents a section on line l2-l2 of Figure 9.

Figure 13 represents a front perspective view of the combination skirtand cape member, shown worn as a cape.

Figure 14 represents an enlarged perspective view of the top of thefront opening of the combination cape and skirt member.

Figure 15 is a perspective view of the rear of the bodice portion of thegarment showing a modified form of construction of one of the details.

According to the present invention, the bathing garment designatedgenerally by the numeral l5 may be composed of a lower bifurcated trunkportion l6 and an upper bodice portion 'll;the trunk portion l6 beingpreferably formed with two leg openings l8 and IS.

The trunk portion I6 as well as the bodice portion I! are formed ofseveral layers of generally similar knitted silk webs or piles ofrelatively fine gauge. In the particular illustration here shown, thetrunk and the bodice portions l6 and I1 are shown as formed of threelayers or webs.- The layers or webs of the trunk member are designatedby the numerals 20, 2| and 22, respectively.

while the layers or webs of the bodice are designated by the numerals22, 24 and 2!, respectively.

The knitted silk layers 20, 2i and 22 of the trunk portion 14 arepreferably arranged with the courses extending horizontally and with theribs or wales extending vertically so that the direction of greatestelasticity will be horizontally or circumferentially of the trunk.

The layers or webs 23, 24 and 25 of the bodice portion are preferablyarranged with the courses running vertically, and with the ribs or walestherefore running horizontally so that the direction of the greatestelasticity of these layers will be in a vertical direction rather thanin a horizontal or circumferential direction.

Each of the knitted silk layers, sheets, or webs 20, 2| and 22 on onehand, and 22, 24 and 25 on the other hand, are preferably formed onflnegauge flat knitting machines, as for instance, the flat type orfull-fashioned machines commonly used for knitting full-fashioned orfine or sheer silk hosiery. The knitted silk layers, sheets or webs 20,2| and 22 on one hand and 22, 24 and 25 on the other hand may also beformed on a suitable fine-gauge circular knitting machine of sumcientlylarge diameter to give the necessary width of fabric for a bathing suit,or the necessary width for the parts or sections of a bathing suit. So,too, any other type of knitting machine may be employed of sufficientlyfine-gauge, to produce these knitted fabric layers or plies, as forinstance warp" type knitting machines etc.

The trunk portion may be formed of four more or less equal quarterlysections dividing the circumference into four parts, or it may be formedof two parts of correspondingly greater width or correspondingly greatercircumferential extent.

The drawings illustrate a form of construction in which the trunk isformed of four sections, two front sections and two rear sections;thetwo front sections being joined along the front vertical median line 26,while the two rear sections are joined along the rear vertical medianline 21, while the front and rear sections on one side are joined alongthe side seam 28, and the front and rear sections on the other side arejoined along the side seam 29, both extending generally vertically.

The bodice portion I1 may be formed of a single section (that is, eachof the three plies is, in and of itself, an integral piece) In theformation of the four trunk sections 30, 3|, 32 and 33, it has beenfound preferable to reinforce portions by automatically throwing inanother yarn carrier finger (by any suitable conventional pattern chainor pattern mechanism or control mechanism) over some of the needleswhich will knit the reinforced portions and for the number of courses tobe covered by the reinforced portions.

Thus, for instance, the fine-gauge knitted silk layers or webs 20, 2|and 22 on one hand, and 23, 24, and 25 on the other hand, may be knittedof an eight-end silk yarn or with eight threads of silk to produce aweight of fabric more or less the same as the weight which is commonlyknown as service weigh in womens silk hosiery, which will be relativelyfine and relatively transparent or translucent knitted silk webbingwhich will permit the passage of a substantial amount of light by directtransmission or passage through the multiplicity of small discreteopenings in the knitted loops and which will thus give a substantialdirect-exposure to light (and also to air).

and adjusted at will.

If desired, additional yarn carrier, carrying an additional yam ofpossibly six ends of silk (more or less), may be thrown into action orinto operative position through the areas to be reinforced, so that thereinforced zones will be of an in-: creased weight, that is, will be ofa weight corresponding to a fourteen-thread silk yarn, (more or less)while the rest of the fabric layers will be of a weight corresponding toan eight-thread silk yarn (more or less).

The reinforced zones are preferably duplicated through each of theplurality of layers in registration with each other.

Thus, at the front of the garment immediately above the crotch portion,reinforced zones 24 and 25 may be produced, while along the back seam2'I, narrow marginal reinforcement zones 26 and 31 may be formed. Ifdesired, this marginal reinforcement may also be provided adjacent tothe front seam 26 and adjacent to the side seams, to provide moresubstantial anchorage for the seaming threads so as to permit theadjacent "sections of the garment to be Joined, with their adjacentedges merely in abutting relation instead of in overlapping relation toeach other and yet to give substantial durability at the seams.

In the bodice of the garment. a horizontally disposed reinforced zone llmay be provided extending substantially across the bodice of thegarment, and, if desired, extending substantially throughout the entirecircumferential extent of the bodice of the garment from the terminalportion 39 to the terminal portion 40, and being of a vertical extent orwidth" sufilciently great to give adequate breast support.

The trunk portion It may terminate generally at the waist line 4| of thegarment in a generally tubular channel formation 42 indicatedparticularly in the sectional view in Figure 8; the tubular channel orchamber being adapted to receive a draw-string, tape or cord, or anelastic waist-confining member 42 which is laced through the tubularportion 42, and may have its ends extending exteriorly as at 44, to betied The tubular formation 42 in the waist zone may be formed by turningback the three plies, and stitching the same by suitable zig-zag oroverlapped stitches 45, which will permit the lateral stretching of thetubular formation in a generally circumferential direction with respectto the wearer, without tearing the stitches. The bodice portion may besimilarly stitched to the tubular formation 42 by means of the suitablezig-zag stitches 46.

The bodice member I! is seamed or closed in along its free edges 41, 48and 49 by any suitable seam such as the seam indicated particularly inFigures 5 and 6, while the upper edges 50 and 5| may be similarly seamedin as indicated particularly in Figure '7 by any suitable overlockstitch or similar stitch 52, which may be formed on any conventionalmachine suitable for this purpose.

The straps 53 and 54 are preferably inserted between the plies and sewedin place as indicated in Figures 1 and 4 and are adapted to extend overthe shoulders and then to cross each other and to be fixedly oradjustably or detachably fastened to any suitable loops or otherequivalent means 55 and 56 connected with the terminal portions 39 and40 of the bodice portion of the garment (as indicated in Figure 3), orthe straps 53 and 54 may be merely extended or laced through the loops55 and 56, and then detachably and adjustably fastened to the waist zoneat oppositepoints at the rear, as for instance, at 51 and 58 by means ofsuitable loops connected to the waist zone (as indicated in Figure 15)and these loops may be either rings or merely fabric loops fastened inplace. The straps 53 and 54 are preferably formed of the same materialas that of which the garment is formed, and also formed of a pluralityof plies with the ribs or wales running longitudinally of the strap, andthe courses running transversely of the straps.

If the straps 53 and 54 are fastened at 39 and 40, then an elasticconnector member 59 may also be interposed between the loops 55 and 56with any suitable adjustment, as for instance, theadjustable buckle 60.

A combination skirt and cape member designated generally by the numeral6| may be similarly formed and may be formed of three sections 62, 63and 64, each section being formed of two or more plies 65 and 66;thesections being joined along the vertical seams 6'! and 68.

.The courses are preferably arranged horizontally and the ribs or walesvertically. The lower edge may be folded in as at 69, and stitched as at10, while the upper edge may also be turned in as at H, and stitched asat 12 to provide a tubular channel or chamber 13 through which the tiestring 14 may be extended.

The sections 62, 63 and 64 may be either cut to shape or may also befashioned or narrowed (to greater or lesser extent) directly on theknitting machine. Similarly, the several sections of the trunk may alsobe shaped or fashioned by the usual narrowing operations of the knittingmachine, or they may be cut to shape, or may be both narrowed orfashioned on the knitting machine as well as cut to shape along somelines. In Figure 9, the narrowing marks 15 have been indicated, althoughit is to be understood that these narrowing marks may be completelysealed within the seams 61 and 68 by placing the narrowing points closerto the selvage of the fabric as it is knitted, so that the narrowingmarks will be completely encompassed within or embraced within theseams, and thus rendered invisible.

To the free upright edges 16 and I1, fastener tapes I8 and 19 are sewnby stitches and 8|, said tapes carrying any conventional interlockingscoop type fastener members 82, adapted to be connected or disconnectedfrom each other at will by the operating slide 83, of any suitable orconventional construction. The fasteners are arranged for completeseparation with the guides 84 and 85 arranged for initiating theconnection between the fasteners. The member 6| may either be worn as askirt, that is, auxiliary to the bathing garment, as indicatedparticularly in Figures 1 and 3, or it may be worn as a cape asindicated in Figure 13.

One or two crotch members or crotch sections generally V-shaped ordiamond shaped, as for instance the crotch section 86 may be inserted inthe crotch zone, seamed and fastened in place by the seams 81. Thesecrotch members or sections are also preferably of reinforced weight ofmulti-ply, and with the ribs extending generally horizontally and thecourses vertically, as indicated particularly in Figure 4.

By the fine-gauge multi-ply bathing garment or garments of the presentinvention, the weight and thickness of the garment may be much reduced,the garment rendered more free to the movements of the body and renderedmore free to the penetration of air and to the directpassage ordirect-transmission of sunlight, is rendered quick-drying and is at thesame time rendered non-revealing insofar as normal observation or normalpoint of view is concerned.

Thus, as stated above, while each of the layers of fine-gaugelight-weight knitted silk fabric is more or less transparent ortranslucent, and while the combination of the plurality of layers ofsuch fabric is likewise transparent or translucent when held close tothe eye and permits the direct passage of light in substantial amount,it (the combination of the plurality of layers) becomes neverthelessnon-revealing and gives an opaque appearance when in actual use againstthe body of the wearer, and in fact tends to give a moir effect orappearance by virtue of the successive reflections of the differentplies of silk. Thus, as

the interstices of the successive layers are generally equally spacedbut generally do not register with each other exactly, there is asufficient lack of registration to create not only an opaque effect, butalso to create a moire appearance.

The garment of the present invention has been found much superior toboth woolen as well as cotton bathing garments of any of theconventional or heretofore known or used constructions when viewed fromany viewpoint of the swimmer or bather. Thus, by the present invention,a bathing garment may be provided which can be of minimum weight, andgive maximum freedom of body movements as is desirable foractualswimming, and which will also give air and sunlight substantial accessto the portions of the body generally covered by the bathing garment,without however being revealing from the normal viewpoint of an observerso that the same bathing garment may also be highly desirable for beachwear by virtue of its characteristics above mentioned.

The foregoing novel results of the construction of the present inventionmay be attributed, in a measure, or in part, to the combination of themultiplicity of more or less discreet openings formed by or within theknitted loops or stitches and the relatively smooth and relativelylustrous or light-reflective filaments constituting the thread or yarnof which these loops are formed, whereby the light from without maypenetrate through the multiplicity of small apertures or loops in theplurality of knitted fabric layers, to the body;-and whereby any lightwhich may tend to be reflected from the body outwardly is eitherintercepted by the threads or is so reflected by the threads of thesuccessive fabric layers as to destroy or substantially to obliterateall vision of the body from any normal external viewpoint.

The reinforced zones 34 and 35 of the trunk part and the reinforced zone38 of the bodice also serves to increase the non-revealing qualities ofthe garment in these zones.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is thereforedesired that the present embodiments be considered in all respects asillustrative and not restrictive, reference being had to the appendedclaims rather than to the foregoing description to indicate the scope ofthe invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I hereby claim as new anddesire to secure by Let ters Patent, is:

1. A bathing garment including a trunk member, formed substantially inits entirety 01' a plurality of relatively fine-gauge, light-weight andmore or less light-transmissive knitted plies or relatively smooth nadmore or less light-reflective filaments, which (bathing garment) isgenerally non-revealing when generally against the body or the wearer asin actual use.

2. A bathing garment including a trunk member, formed substantially inits entirety of a plurality oi relatively fine-gauge, light-weight andmore or less light-transmissive knitted silk plies, which (bathinggarment) is generally non-revealing when against the body of the wearer.

3. A bathing garment comprising a trunk memher and a waist member eachformed of a plurality or relatively fine-gauge, light-weight and more orless light-transmissive knitted plies or relatively smooth and more orless light-reflective filaments, which (bathing garment) is generallynon-revealing when against the body of the wearer ;the knitted coursesof the trunk layers and the knitted courses of the waist layers runningin directions generally transversely of each other.

4. A bathing garment comprising a waist member formed of a plurality ofrelatively fine-gauge, light-weight and more or less light-transmissiveknitted plies of relatively smooth and more or less light-reflectivefilaments, which (bathing garment) is generally non-revealing whenagainst the body of the wearer;-said plies having generally horizontallydisposed reinforced breast zones in registration with each other formedof an increased number 01 filaments.

5. A bathing garment including a trunk member, formed substantially inits entirety of a plurality or relatively. fine-gauge light-weight andmore or less light trive knitted plies or relatively smooth and more orless light-reflective filaments, which (bathing garment) is generallynon-revealing when against the body of the wearer;said garment beingformed sections and the sections being united by sewn means, and saidplies having reinforced marginal zones formed of an increased number offilaments, said reinforced zones 0! the several plies being generally inregistration with each other adjacent the seam.

6. A bathing garment including a bodice member, formed substantially inits entirety of a plurality of relatively fine-gauge, light-weight andmore or less light-transmissive knitted plies of relatively smooth andmore or less light-reflective filaments, which (bathing garment) isgenerally non-revealing when generally against the body of the wearer asin actual use.

'7. A bathing garment including a bodice member, formed substantially inits entirety of a plurality of relatively fine-gauge, light-weight andmore or less light-transmissive knitted silk plies, which (bathinggarment) is generally non-revealing when generally against the body ofthe wearer as in actual use.

SAMUEL TAIT.

